hole punch for tobacco tin ideas please :) ?

Guys I’m trying to punch some holes in a tobacco tin for my CMOY amps :listening_headphone, now I did buy Fiskars Fiskars 1/4 Inch Hand Punch, Circle but I bent it on the first use , waste of time really :disgust: ! I think maybe the tobacco tins are maybe tougher than the US mint tins .. dunno :confusion: . Anyway any ideas of what I could build to punch the holes or buy? I am thinking of a bracket that slots over the tins front and ( I need three holes) maybe use pointed bolts I’d have to tap the bracket of course but it would be a lot more accurate ? Anyway maybe you have a simple solution?

How about a paper hole punch as in this vid;- cMoyBB v2.02 Casing Assembly - YouTube
... Clive

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clive S

How about a paper hole punch as in this vid;- cMoyBB v2.02 Casing Assembly - YouTube
... Clive

---

Hi Clive thats the one I bought but it was useless :(

Any reason why you would just not drill it? put a piece of wood underneath, line up point to drill, place wood on top then drill? clamp it if you can.

When I needed to punch some holes in some shim steel I just made a simple punch. It was also 1/4", so I ground a likely looking profile on the end of a piece of 1/4" HSS bar I had lying around, then drilled/reamed a hole the same size through two block of steel. Put the shim between and tap the bar with a hammer and you get a nice hole. If you need to punch a lot of holes this might be worth it, otherwise, as the previous reply says, just clamp it between two bits of wood and drill through it.

I guess it all depends on the quantity of tins you want to put holes in. If you're doing a few, then a nicely constructed drilling jig would allow you to quickly clamp and drill all your holes within a minute or two.

milehighclub

I am aiming to do quite alot , the drill I have tried it tends to tear the metal and because its PCB mounted equipment I want it quite precise so it looks good.. i have looked at a numatic set of rams , but i want something simple to start with.

Have a look on the web for a Whitney hand punch, I have an old one that goes to 1/4", does 16swg steel ok but you should centre punch first to get a good location.

Just had a look on the web and they appear to be quite expensive! But they do work!!
peter

To drill holes in thin sheet steel as others have said sandwich between to pieces of wood but main thing is do not use a normal jobbers drill but grind one up like a wood bit as a wing and spur.
If you have decent wood bits you could just use one of these but most i have come across aren't even hardened hence the grinding up of the wing and spur.

Worth keeping a few as they are also ideal on plastics and prevent splitting as they exit the hole.

John S.

therefore maybe something like these at the right speed...

Dremel Brad Point Drill Bit Set - 631 | eBay (they go up to 1/4")

never used them for tin, but they work great on acrylic! (& handy to have in your arsenal of bits - especially if your machine is confined/restricted to a 1/8" collet, such as a rotary tool in this arrangment - https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/pr...g&ved=0CCAQrRI)

I want to avoid drilling if I can , I want a sort of high bred clamp come punch template combo , ill work on it and see what I can do, thanks for the replies guys :)

juliuscaesar

Hi Fivetide
regarding die press, a decent pillar drill should provide enough pressure for punching thin stuff,clamp your die to the table (simples)

What about this sort of punch press?
eBay item no.
121130794607

Whitney punch
Ebay 221245161892
peter

You'd probably get a decent hole if they were drilled with a milling slot drill. Probably a nice job for a CNC. Unless you fancy building a CNC punching machine...

Rotabroach annular cutter (aka mag drill cutter) often does a good job on sheet too... but you'd probably need a mill to hold the shank (fits nicely in a 19 mm ER32 collet). Sizes go down to 12 mm in standard series, never tried the 'mini' ones.
--
ah just seen it's a 1/4 inch hole so as you were...

All great ideas but I have to be quite accurate with the holes, after marking them out then drilling chances are they won’t be that accurate. The PCB has about 5 mounted parts that need to go through the holes on different sides and there’s no play. Plus they have to be neat. So that’s why Im thinking of making a template I can slip over the edge of the tin box, sort of an inverted U shape and then using a hardened bolt that’s been cut down with a cutting edge done on a lathe that then screws through the die and punches out the holes.

A bit like these:-
Q.max Sheet Metal Hole Punch 25mm
But I don't think they are made down to 5mm. ...Clive

Or perhaps this ? Buy Punch & Die Kits Hand punch kit with die key RS DA1230 online from RS for next day delivery. ....Rob

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clive S

A bit like these:-
Q.max Sheet Metal Hole Punch 25mm
But I don't think they are made down to 5mm. ...Clive

---

Hit the nail on the head Clive .. same idea but a rectangle block that fits over the tins side :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cropwell

Or perhaps this ? Buy Punch & Die Kits Hand punch kit with die key RS DA1230 online from RS for next day delivery. ....Rob

---

Wish I had seen this ages ago wouldnt have struggled with those crappy paper punches :) thanks Cropwell

Easy enough to make your own punches and dies using something like EN8. Heat to cherry red and quench in oil to harden. It's about time you built a CNC punching machine. :wink: